With the Level 1 announcement  of June 8, New Zealand cinemas have stirred back into life. I have been to three films in the past week (Master Cheng, The Trip to Greece, The Assistant) and it has taken minimal re-adjustment to return to familiar haunts such the Lido in Hamilton and Tivoli in Cambridge.
New titles are arriving on screens (more quickly than the multiplexes) and where there are insufficient films, some cinemas are drawing on the back catalogue, providing the rare experience of seeing such classics as Singing in the Rain or Funny Girl on the big screen.
Film society screenings are also starting again; on June 22 the Hamilton Film Society will  screen the NZ feature Mr Wrong, with director Gaylene Preston in attendance.

It seems a long time since I last visited a New Zealand cinema but it good to see many stirring back to life.  Some cinemas (such as the Academy in  Auckland) were quite innovative during those long weeks when all screens were dark;  offering online access to recent films.  
The Doc Edge Festival 2020  has just released its programme; some 83 documentaries online over the period 12 June to 5 July.  I don't really know where to begin with that, but we will give it go.  This will be closely followed  by the NZ International Film Festival; again online, running from 24 July to 2 August.
Both events will offer convenience and reduced costs (no more snatched meals between films) but I continue to miss the real cinema experience.  I am also worried about the possible future viability olf some independent cinemas around New Zealand and I took it upon myself to send a message to Grant Robertson (Minister of Finance0, which was passed on to Stuart Nash (Minister for Small Business).  His reply is as below;

Dear Geoff,
Thank you for your email of 22 April 2020 to Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern and Hon Grant Robertson with your concerns regarding the state of independent cinemas in New Zealand as a result of COVID-19. As the matters you raised fall within my responsibilities as Minister for Small Business, I am responding to your email.
I appreciate your message of support for the Government’s direction through the current crisis. I am aware of the impacts and uncertainty that COVID-19 is bringing to many businesses at this time.
I acknowledge your concern regarding the hardships many independent cinema owners are experiencing during the COVID-19 response.
While the Government has already acted swiftly in response to the crisis, with about $20 billion in support already announced, it recognises that more is needed. Feedback and comment from both the public and the tax industry has played an important role in formulating the Government’s decisions and we continue to work with various business groups and industry leaders. From these discussions it is clear New Zealand needs to work as one to respond to these unprecedented times.
The Government has announced a suite of measures to provide relief for small and medium- sized businesses, like independent cinemas, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included investing $25 million over the next 12 months for business consultancy support. This funding will provide tailored support services to help businesses weather the storm, at no charge to the business (up to the value of $5000). Using established services, including the Regional Business Partner Network, and the helplines run by the Employers and Manufacturers Association and Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, you can get specialist, tailored advice where it is needed, fast. This could range from human resources advice to business continuity planning to financial management. You can register at: www.regionalbusinesspartners.co.nz.
Independent cinemas are advised to contact Business Mentors New Zealand. Business Mentors New Zealand is committed to helping small business owners, emerging business entrepreneurs and social enterprise decision-makers make better business decisions. Its mentoring service introduces small business owners and social enterprise executive officers to skilled Business Mentors who will assist them in advancing their business capability, capacity and sustainability by sharing their knowledge and experience.
Ref: 20-3076
If independent cinema owners call the 0800 209 209 number now, they will be put through to a person who will assist them into a code to bypass payment. If they have one-off urgent enquiries, they send these to admin@bmnz.org.nz and they will be assisted.
In addition to the above, the Government is also introducing the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme will provide interest-free loans for a year to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 economic shock to support their immediate cashflow needs and meet fixed costs. Many businesses have had little or no revenue through Alert Level 4 and Level 3. This scheme is designed to give them access to cashflow to meet fixed costs on concessionary terms. The loans will provide assistance of up to $100,000 to firms employing 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.
The scheme will provide $10,000 to every firm and $1800 per equivalent full-time employee. Loans will be interest free if they are paid back within a year. The interest rate will be 3 per cent for a maximum term of five years. Repayments are not required for the first two years.
The eligibility criteria are the same as for the Wage Subsidy Scheme. Businesses will also have to declare that they are a viable business, they will use the money for core business operating costs and enter into a legally binding loan contract.
The scheme will be administered by Inland Revenue who will be taking applications from 12 May 2020, and pay out very shortly thereafter.
You can keep up to date with the latest information on the Government’s response initiatives at: https://covid19.govt.nz; there is also a government helpline (0800 779 997) for broader government advice.
Please be assured that we are monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 closely, and will continue to respond as the situation changes.
These are difficult times for many New Zealanders. Yet we can all contributing to eradicating this virus by following public health advice. For many of us, this is the most important thing we can do for our community during this tough period.
Thank you again for writing. Yours sincerely
Stuart Nash
Minister for Small Business 

If you have not yet read it, here is a link to a very good appraisal by Business Stuff journalist Tony Wall. I put him in touch with Karen and Shane at the Tivoli in Cambridge and that was a good thing.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/121148436/coronavirus-cinema-owners-are-desperate-for-more-government-cash-so-they-can-survive-the-covid19-pandemic

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Obviously, there is not a lot I can be doing with this site, in these testing times.  I am sure missing going to the movies but there is some consolation in what you can find online, and watch in the company of specific individuals.
Just a reminder about the Mark Cousin's Women Making Film, which begins on the Rialto Channel (Sky39) tonight (Wednesday April 1), at 8.30pm. Dan Slevin also interviewed Mark on At The Movies ( RNZ National) on the same night. . Interview available here
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/atthemovies/audio/2018741080/mark-cousins-and-women-make-film
Here is an interesting perspective from Mark, in The Guardian from this week:
​https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/30/lockdown-watch-mark-cousins-only-seeing-films-from-1940?CMP=share_btn_link

We are living through a period of great uncertainty with the COVID-19 virus disrupting  all our lives. There has already been much discussion about what it might mean for cinemas and film-goers. As at Monday March 23, New Zealand cinemas remain open and I remain optimistic that we will return to some state of normality. But who knows when.

I feel a peronal loss as I will have to suspend my cinema-going until it becomes once more possible. This is after suspending,as President of the Hamilton Film Society, future weekly screenings for our members. But it does mean that I will have more time to bring this site up-to-date.

There are  numerous opportunities to sustain an interest in film culture. One such great opportunity is provided by the Rialto Channel in New Zealand (Sky39), who are screening the Mark Cousin's series Women Make Film as well as Agnes on Varda through April 2020.
Links here:  https://www.rialtochannel.co.nz/Reel-Women-Leading-Female-Directors Screens on Friday April 3 @ 8.30pm
                        https://www.rialtochannel.co.nz/Films/type/View/Women-Make-Film-Episode-1
First episode screens  Wednesday April 1 @ 8.30pm

In early December 2019, I took a trip around the South Island to visit or re-visit cinemas, beginning in Christchurch and returning there eight days later, after visiting 28 independent cinemas (Rangiora, Kaikoura, Nelson, Westport ....).  It was an intense but satisfying trip, especially where I was able to visit places where I had not been before, or where I had not been able to see cinema interiors. One such cinema was the Entertainment Centre in Roxburgh/Roxburgh Entertainment Centre.  
I have added details for their listing in the Cinema Directory/Otago but also I want to make known a potentially very important aspect of the main auditorium there.  The folk who run the Entertainment Centre on behalf of the community are gathering evidence and are seeking confirmation for the claim that this cinema space is the longest-continuously-running cinema space in the world, providing film since its first  screening in 1897. 
If their claim is successful, then will be cause for celebration and subsequent national recognition of this historical site.  Watch this spot.

 The November 2016 Kaikoura magnitude 7.8 earthquake largely destroyed the lovely old Mayfair cinema on the foreshore, leaving little more than the art deco-styled pink and black facade salvageable. In the ensuing months, the community of Kaikoura has been fund-raising  (donations, film screenings in other venues, art auctions etc) to have the Mayfair rise again.  One particular local (John Wyatt) has been the driving force behind this.You can find more information about their fundraising on their Facebook page https://m.facebook.com/mayfairkaikoura/
When I visited on December 9, 2019 the timber framing for the external walls was being raised. The plan for the new Mayfair includes two cinema screens and a large auditorium for live events.  It will provide a important cultural centre for the lively town of Kaikoura, and a replacement balcony will ensure it will be once again a cinema which has one of the finest views of mountains and ocean in the world.
There is a proposed opening date of 9 November 2020. I hope to be there. 

Auckland Live (www.aucklandlive.co.nz)  has announced an extensive programme of outdoor film screenings in Aotea Square for the summer months of December/January/February.  There are screenings on Thursday and Sunday; to include popular feature films (starting Hunt for the Wilderpeople), short film programmes, and recent documentaries.
Update: On my recent South Island I encountered more outdoor summer screenings:  in Nelson, Christchurch and Lincoln.   Pictures below from planned screenings in Christchurch and a screening underway, next to the Apollo Cinema in Lincoln.
There will be outdoor, evening screenings of Casablanca, Stop Making Sense and The Rocky Horror Picture Show as part of the Hamilton Gardens Festival, Feb 26-28.

I am putting together plans to visit as many South Island cinemas as possible,  beginning in Christchurch and following a circuitous route, in early December.  There are places I haven't been back to for a year or two, and some new places.
As I no longer have any university support to help my endeavours, such opportunities to travel are infrequent and need to make the most efficient use of time--so, I plan to visit more than 20 cinemas in eight days. 
A further update (December 20): an organised trip around the South Island, which entailed much driving (and detours, due to road closures), resulted in visits to 28 cinemas in 8 days . There were places we did not get to (Akaroa, Takaka, Te Anau, Dunedin) but we pretty much covered the South.  Updates of cinema listings will begin shortly.
I was particularly pleased to get to see several cinemas I had been unable to get to until now--such as Roxburgh and Gore.

Along with the Lido cinema in central Hamilton, the Tivoli in the pretty Waikato town of Cambridge is a favourite film-going venue.  Stylishly developed and opened in 2014, in a refurbished building on the northern outskirts of town (between a large Bunnings and a very popular Good George bar/restaurant), it is a lovely three-screen cinema. Owners Shane and Karen know their films and their programming is often more adventurous that some other independents. It is not on the NZIFF circuit but festival films often turn up there and the Italian Film Festival was scheduled there in 2019
A reliable clue that will tell you that the film selection and screening quality (as well as the ambience) will  be top-notch are the film books scattered around the lounge area.
Karen and Shane opened a companion Tivoli in Papamoa (close to Tauranga) late last year, which serves a slightly different audience.  It is a little too far for me to venture, but the Tivoli Cambridge is just a 15 minute south down SH1 (where you can experience the thrill of a 110kph speed limit) for me. Since the highway bypassed the town, Cambridge has become even more of an appealing destination, with bookshops, antique stores, good cafes, and ready access to cycle trails.